Misunderstanding
by Coneflower Adams
Summary: Ralph and Felix have gotten to know each other better in 1 week than they did in 30 years.
1. Chapter 1

_Writer's note: This started as a hero's cutie fic and turned into a Ralph/Felix broship fic instead :D I hope that if we ever get the sequel we're all wishing for that they'll have plenty of Ralph/Felix broship!_

* * *

In the week that followed Ralph's game jump adventure, he and Felix had gotten to know each other better. They'd spent some time every evening after work hours together talking, cutting up, and even taking a trip to Tapper's before Ralph headed off to _Sugar Rush_.

It was strange working with a person for 30 years and not really knowing them. Ralph never realized Felix had such a cheesy sense of humor, but it worked for the handyman and he'd made Ralph's shoulders shake with inward laughter several times. They'd gotten into a kind of unspoken rivalry during gameplay, slyly trying to outdo each other. It was great having a buddy, especially one from your own game.

Ralph's cheeks hurt from catching himself smiling so much. Between his friendship with Vanellope and brotherly relationship with Felix, Ralph hadn't felt the lonely pang in his chest since the life-changing decision. He was a simple guy. He didn't need much. Having two close friends, all the cake he could ever eat, and a shack to call his own being built – he didn't need anything else.

It was another fun visit to _Sugar Rush_ to see Vanellope cream her competition. Though all the kids in the game were great racers, Vanellope had this determination that couldn't be beat. He loved seeing the huge smile on her face as she zoomed over the finish line and yell, "Ralphie, did you see that?!" as she bounded toward him. Even when she didn't win, she was always brimming with excitement from the race. Vanellope had been right, racing was in her code.

Ralph strolled out of _Sugar Rush's_ outlet, ready to work on his shack for a little while before getting a night's rest. The black armor of a familiar figure caught his attention as he approached _Fix-It Felix Jr_. He narrowed his gaze, realizing it was that soldier lady. He hadn't seen her since she dropped him and Felix off after defeating those whacky, destructive bugs.

The blond lady was bent over something. As he drew closer, she popped up to full height, a fistful of blue shirt in her grasp. A surprised yelp rang out, and Ralph's mouth gaped open, realizing she was holding Felix in the air by the front of his shirt. She looked like she gave him a good shake, and the handyman's arms and legs flew out like one of those pull-string Christmas ornaments. He had no clue what that crazy woman was doing to his buddy, but he wouldn't stand for it!

Ralph stomped up to them, a meaty hand out ready to rescue Felix. "Hey, lady! What're you doing-" He stopped short when Calhoun snapped her sharp gaze on him, a bit perturbed by the interruption. Ralph's anger dropped when he saw how close in proximity they were, and Felix smilingly dreamily at Calhoun.

"Need something, Wreck-It?" Calhoun barked, setting the handyman down gently.

"I-I-" Ralph stuttered. He flicked a glance at Felix who was now very aware of his friend's presence – his cheeks blooming a bright red as he straightened his hat. Ralph rubbed his face. Calhoun wasn't attacking Felix; they were- "Ey-yi-yi. I'm sorry. I thought you were…I thought…"

Calhoun popped a hip out and planted a fist on said hip as she waited for him to finish his ramblings. "Spit it out, Wreck-It."

Ralph shook his head. "Nothing. I'm sorry for interrupting." He nodded at Felix, who was still looking quite embarrassed. "I'll see you back at the shack, buddy."

Felix gave him a thumbs up. "Okay, brother."

The wrecker wandered into the outlet, a bit flustered. Felix and Calhoun - together? He recalled something Felix said about a dynamite gal he'd met who rejected him. The handyman's words hadn't come to mind ever since Ralph heard them, but now that he put two and two together, it made sense that Calhoun would be _that_ dynamite gal Felix spoke of.

He felt dumb for assuming Calhoun was hurting Felix. After getting pummeled by her several times, he didn't want anyone else to get that kind of beating, especially his good friend. But no, they were actually-

He couldn't even say it in his head. It just sounded too strange.

Ralph busied himself with collecting bricks from the dump to finish the last wall for his shack. He was proud of his handy work so far. There was a sense of accomplishment building something instead of wrecking it. There'd been a few – okay, several – incidents where he'd accidentally knocked his hard work down, but he was getting better at being careful.

A pair of footfalls approached, and Ralph glanced over his shoulder to see Felix. Let the awkward conversation begin.

"Hey Ralph."

"Hey Felix."

The handyman started right away helping to stack bricks. Since his hammer could only fix, not create, they had to build the wall brick by brick.

Ralph cleared his throat. "So, uh…you and Calhoun, huh?"

A wistful smile crossed Felix's lips as he blushed slightly. "Yep."

"Is she the dynamite gal you mentioned in the fungeon back in _Sugar Rush_?" Ralph inquired, carefully staking another brick in place on the ever growing wall.

"She sure is." Felix was being coy about the whole thing, and Ralph almost dropped it. But he could tell by his friend's face that Felix was about to burst.

"I thought she-" Ralph paused, remembering the word Felix used. It was a word he'd never use himself, "rebuffed your affections?"

"We had a misunderstanding, but it all worked out."

"Oh, well, that's good. She seems…interesting."

"Oh, Ralph, you have no idea!" Felix began to pace, clasping his hands together in front of him and gazing up at the sky longingly. The flood gates opened. "Tamora is amazing! She's the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure to be in the company of. She's passionate about everything she does, and we have such a great time together!" He paused, placing his hat over his heart and sighing. "Jiminy jaminy, can she give one doozy of a kiss."

Ralph shifted, feeling the conversation was getting into territory he definitely didn't want to venture into. "Okay, wow, you convinced me she's great. How many dates have you two crazy kids been on?"

Felix settled his hat back on his head. "Tonight was our first."

"Huh!" Ralph didn't know what to say to that revelation. But he also didn't know how much time Felix and Calhoun had spent together in _Sugar Rush_. If his buddy was happy with Calhoun then he was happy for him, even if the whole scenario made absolutely no sense.

"Tomorrow, Miss Calhoun is coming to my place for a dinner date and stroll around the lake," Felix added, blushing at what Ralph could assume were expectations.

"That's good. I'm happy for you, brother." Ralph noted to avoid his game the next evening. What time he'd been around Calhoun, she was either smashing her fist into his face or barking orders, but maybe she wasn't as bad as he assumed. She must have some sort of soft spot if she had an interest in Felix.

The brothers lulled in conversation for a few minutes as Felix handed Ralph brick after brick as the wall was becoming too high for him to reach easily. Lulls didn't last though; both Felix _and_ Vanellope couldn't stay quiet for long.

"Hey Ralph," the handyman started up again.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"I'm sorry," the words caught Ralph off guard and he looked down at Felix, wondering why his giddy mood had changed. Felix sighed, plopping down on the pile of bricks close by as Ralph waited for an explanation for the apology. "I was so naïve to what you were going through. I'd lived in this comfy bubble for so long that I didn't notice what was happening right under my nose."

Ralph decided it was time for a break at the prompting of Felix's sudden heart to heart. He had a feeling this was going to be just as awkward as talking about his friend's relationship status. "What do you mean, buddy?"

"I think I learned more about you in just one week then I had the whole 30 years we've been plugged in." Felix glanced up at him, blues eyes downcast. "I let you live in a garbage dump and never offered you a slice of cake and didn't notice how you were being treated like some criminal by the Nicelanders." Felix averted his eyes to the ground, and pulled the brim of his hat lower over his face. "I was so stuck up their patooties – excuse my language – and trying to please them."

Ralph was taken aback by the confession, especially Felix's last admission. Ralph knew Felix was a people pleaser to the Nicelanders. It was probably coded in him to be, and it showed a lot about how the handyman that he'd finally realized it. He and Ralph had grown by leaps and bounds in only a week's time.

Ralph patted his brother's back, giving a reassuring smile. "It's okay, buddy. We were both stuck in our programming, but now we know and things are good."

Truly, Ralph didn't want to dwell on the past. He'd spent enough time there. He was determined to look straight ahead from now on; to keep moving forward in the life that was progressing around him.

Felix smiled warmly up at him, punching Ralph's huge arm playfully. "That you're right, brother. Things are good." He hopped up, and examined the nearly completed wall. "Let's get back to building you a home."


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay Felix, I think it's ready."

Ralph stepped back, placing hands on his hips, and smiled widely at the four walls that made up his new home. A familiar jingle rang out, and the bricks on the last wall seemed to fuse together making them stronger. Felix sheathed his hammer, joining Ralph in admiring their hard work.

"It's coming along nicely."

"It is, huh?" Ralph's gaped tooth smile didn't falter as he nudged Felix with a single finger. "Ready to get started on the roof?"

Felix swung an arm enthusiastically. "You bet, brother!"

Once the roof was complete, Ralph could finally move in. He had no furnishings, and he couldn't exactly move his tree stump in and sleep against. But he wasn't worried; it would all come together eventually. At least he had a place to call his own.

Glancing at Felix as the handyman sorted through the leftover roofing material, Ralph's mind shifted to the scene he happened upon the night before. He'd been out with Vanellope grabbing a bite to eat in Burger Time, and thought it'd be nice to sit atop the tram entrance to watch the stars for a little while when he returned to his game.

Two silhouetted figures – one small and one tall - caught his eye from across the lake, and Ralph remembered Felix mentioning the moonlit stroll he had planned after his and Calhoun's dinner date. He didn't mean to watch them - really, but his attention wandered from the twinkling above to the couple.

They were seated on a bench. Felix scooted closer to Calhoun and touched her hand that rested there. Calhoun looked at him. She leaned in, and Felix met her in the middle with a tender kiss – nothing like the one Ralph had witnessed the day before.

Calhoun ran fingers through Felix's hair as she spoke, and the handyman leaned into her touch. Ralph couldn't hear what she was saying, but Felix laughed and went in for another kiss. That's when Ralph averted his eyes back to the twinkling stars. His attention had lingered long enough, making him feel guilty for taking a look their way in the first place.

"So, how'd it go with Calhoun?" Ralph asked, as if he didn't know.

"Wonderful," Felix beamed as a light of memories flashed over his face, "I baked up a chicken pot pie, and Tammy loved it. Y'know, she's never had a home-cooked meal before." Felix paused, a look of distraught replacing his high spirits and Ralph wondered why. "I-I really need to have you over too for a home-cooked meal one night, Ralph."

 _Oh no._ Another bridge they had to cross. Ralph waved off the offer. "That's okay, buddy. You save the pot roast and potatoes for your girl. I'll have my own kitchen soon enough. But I may need a few cooking lessons." He chuckled, earning a laugh from Felix as well. "So, is Tammy a nickname or something? Because I don't think that's the name you mentioned the other day."

The pink stain returned to Felix's cheeks. "Her first name is Tamora," he pronounced the name with such reverence, Ralph would have thought the woman a queen, "she only lets people she has total trust in to call her Tammy." Felix's face beamed again. "She trusts me, Ralph!"

"That's great, Felix." Ralph smiled back encouragingly. By the way his friend was talking, Calhoun had some trusts issues and it was a big deal that she trusted Felix enough to share something she found intimate.

A disgruntled ' _hmph_ ' echoed down toward them, and both the It-boys followed where the sound came from. Ralph spotted the culprit, groaning at who it was. "Looks like someone is giving us the stink eye."

"Oh, that Gene," Felix sighed in frustration. The mustached man had given them several ugly glares in the past week. "Between you and Tammy taking up much of my off hours, he's been feeling a little neglected. But he has Don and Roy and everyone else to keep him company."

"And don't forget his best friend: the martini."

Felix busted out laughing at Ralph accuracy, and they both glanced up at the window Gene was smoldering out of. Ralph gave him a wave, and that was all it took to drive Gene away, the echo of his window slamming the only thing left behind.

"I wish Gene wasn't so sour about the situation," Felix added with a frown. "It wasn't like we were best friend or anything. He'd stop by my apartment with a bunch of the others and they'd either fawn over me or ask me to come fix something."

Felix wasn't informing Ralph of anything he didn't already know. The wrecker would watch the scenes take place from the dump, but Felix always seemed happy whether it was being congratulated on a job well done or being pulled off to hang a shelf. Maybe the handyman wasn't as happy as Ralph had assumed. "Gene can go suck on a lime wedge until he gets over it."

The thought played around in Ralph's head as they started constructing the roof. "Hey Felix, I was wondering, were you happy getting pies and metals and pats on the back all the time?"

Felix planted gloved hands on his hips, pulling a face in contemplation. "I was, at least, I thought I was." He gave a small shrug. "I didn't really know anything else and I never went looking for anything better. I was content where I was…until you game jumped."

Ralph felt a twinge of remorse for his actions. It tossed life as they knew it off the track. But it all was for the better, even if they did have to go through drastic measures to arrive there.

"I was content with being oblivious, I guess," Felix kept going as Ralph handed him another piece of roofing material to hammer together. "I didn't know there was a dynamite gal waiting for me out there. It took a gun in my face to realize it."

Ralph side-glanced Felix, who'd said that last part as casually as recalling his day - though a gun in the face relating to Calhoun didn't surprise him. "You'll have to tell me that story sometime."

* * *

"Y'know, Burger Time's milkshakes aren't as good as what you can get in Sugar Rush, but they're not half bad either."

Ralph snorted. "You'd be the expert, wouldn't you?"

It'd been fun taking Vanellope to visit different games as she became familiar with the arcade and all it had to offer. The pure joy on her face warmed Ralph's heart in a way he'd never felt before. She was anxious to visit his game, but Ralph wanted to wait to bring her until he'd finished his house.

Vanellope was happy exploring other games. Burger Time quickly became a favorite, and she requested a meal there just about every day. The diner setting fascinated her, and she was having a grand time trying out all the food on the menu.

"I think I'll try the triple chocolate cherry milkshake this time," Vanellope said thoughtfully as they found a booth.

Ralph made a face. "Have at it all you want. You don't have to worry about me stealing it."

The waitress took their order, and only a couple minutes had passed when Vanellope spotted something that caught her interest. "Hey, isn't that Felix and that warrior lady?"

Ralph glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough there was Felix and Calhoun scanning for a table. The joint was busy, as it usually was being one of the few restaurants in Litwak's.

"Hey, Fix-It!" Vanellope's bellowed over the noise of their surroundings. She waved at them. "Over here!"

Felix appeared confused for a moment at the voice calling him, but when he spotted Ralph, he knew exactly who was beckoning him over. Ralph ran a palm over his hair. This would be the first time he'd seen Calhoun since the misunderstanding in front of _Fix-It Felix Jr._ He had a feeling she was bound to say something sarcastic about it.

"Long time no see, Felix," Ralph joked as Felix and his date walked up. He nodded a greeting at Calhoun. "Sergeant."

"Wreck-It," Calhoun greeted with that slight roughness that always accompanied her voice.

"Thought we'd try out Burger Time tonight," Felix said, "but it's looking a might busy in here."

"Why don't you join us!" Vanellope blurted out, causing Ralph's features to startle.

"I'm sure Felix and Sergeant Calhoun want their privacy-" Ralph began, but was cut off by an unexpected response.

"There isn't an inch of privacy in this place," Calhoun said, giving a small sweep with her hand. "If it's okay with Felix, I think we'll take you up on that offer."

Felix smiled widely. "It's fine and dandy with me."

Vanellope bounced on the seat a few times before glitching over to Ralph's side to make room. Ralph watched as Felix offered the inside seat to his date, stating all gentlemanly, "Lady's first", but Calhoun declined, wishing for the outside seat of the booth. There was something different about Calhoun's appearance, and Ralph finally realized she wasn't wearing her armor. A black jacket, dog tags, and a gun holstered to her hip were the three things that stuck out to him.

"So, this is like the 3rd date this week," Ralph said to try and start conversation. "You two must really like each other." He winced inwardly at the words that flew out his mouth. Why did he have to be so tactless?

"Are you keeping track of how often we get together now, Wreck-It?" Calhoun questioned suspiciously. She leaned over the table, eyes sharp as a knife. "Gotta keep up with us in case I try to hurt Fix-It again?" Her tone was deadly, but the sly smirk creeping on her lips gave her away. Calhoun sat back, chuckling. "I just had to mess with you, Wreck-It. Shoulda seen your face."

Ralph relaxed his shoulders that he didn't realize had tensed up. He didn't fear Calhoun, but she was one intimidating woman. If this was her way of being funny, it was going to take some getting used to. "Ha, you got me."

Vanellope glanced from Ralph to Calhoun, her eyes brimming with curiosity. "Wait, I gotta hear what that was all about!"

Calhoun recalled the incident from the other night. It was a short, simple story, but Vanellope got a good laugh out of it and it opened a gateway for her and Calhoun to hold a conversation. Calhoun surprisingly seemed to enjoying talking with the kid, and even saluted her on the perfect delivery of Vanellope's execution joke back in _Sugar Rush_.

"I didn't have a chance to thank you two for helping save my game," Vanellope said, out of the blue. "I mean, if it wasn't for all three of you, I wouldn't be alive." The words sounded heavy as she spoke them and she was having a hard time meeting any of them in the eye. But Ralph knew how much she meant those words. All too sudden, Vanellope's attention switched and she smiled at Felix. "Hey Junior, will you come with me to the jukebox?"

"I'd love to, little lady." Calhoun slid out for a moment to let Felix hop out.

It hit Ralph like a pile of bricks that he was being left alone with the blonde woman. He kept his glance over his shoulder as he distracted himself with watching his two closest friends hit up the jukebox.

"You never have to worry about me hurting him," Calhoun's voice drew Ralph's attention to the other side of the table. "I'd rather shoot myself in the face then ever hurt Fix-It."

Ralph's eyebrows rose. "That's a little extreme, but good to know. I overreacted-" he snorted a light laugh and shrugged a shoulder, "I do that sometimes."

"Mm-huh," Calhoun agreed, "I've noticed."

"This one time not long after we were plugged in I ran across a group of guys from a fighting game that were bullying Felix in GCS. I wasn't going to get in the middle of it, but when one of them snatched up Felix's hammer, it made me really angry. I ran those guys off. Felix thanked me and it seemed like we kinda had a breakthrough in becoming pals, but after getting back to our game, it all went away again and all we were to each other were co-workers that rarely interacted away from game hours."

Ralph stayed focused on his milkshake, wondering if his tangent was to fill in the space while they waited for Felix and Vanellope to return…or if he really needed to confide in Calhoun.

"Now that we're actually pals, I kinda feel the need to protect him again."

Calhoun nodded in either approval or agreement, Ralph wasn't sure. "You may be thick in the head, Wreck-It, but you're a good guy."

It still sounded like a foreign language hearing someone call him the words he'd longed to hear for so many years. "Thanks, Sergeant."

Ralph felt extra weight on his shoulders, and turned his head to find Vanellope there. Felix arrived a moment later, rejoining the group. As they ate their meal and chatted, Ralph had a feeling this was the start of something great.


End file.
